Please. Thank you. Excuse me. I’m sorry. These are the phrases we use every day. They make our lives more pleasant and are the cornerstones of empathy. They are also the building blocks of etiquette.

The Atlantic Highlands Library will be offering a talk, called The Importance of Etiquette in Today’s Society, at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 11.

The program is free but registration is required.

The speaker, Donna King, is certified by the American School of Protocol in Atlanta, Ga., as an etiquette teacher. King specializes in teaching dining etiquette to children from age 4 to those in 12th grade. She prepares her students to face any social situation with poise and the confidence of knowing how it’s done.

To register for this free program or for more information, please call the library at 732-291-1956.

MIDDLETOWN

The Art Society of Mon­mouth County is having its annual Ruth Crown Memorial Art Show from April 1 – 25 at the Middletown Township Public Library, 55 New Mon­mouth Road. The art exhibit consists of varied mediums by art society members.

An artists’ reception will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13.

The show, which is free and open to the public, will be on display from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.

NEPTUNE

The Rutgers Master Gar­den­ers of Monmouth County will present a workshop, entitled “The Art and Science of Composting,” from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at the Monmouth County Connec­tion, 3544 State Highway 66.

During the workshop, Mas­ter Gardener Tom Matulewicz will talk about the ecological and economical benefits of composting; why it is important; the do’s and don’ts of composting; different soil types; uses of compost; and more. Attendees also will have the opportunity to purchase the Earth Machine composting unit at substantial savings.

Matulewicz is passionate about protecting Mother Earth and educating others how to lower their impact on this planet while increasing living standards. He lectures about the benefits of composting for homeowners and on a commercial/institutional level. He also speaks about the reasons to build rain gardens, uses of alternative energy and energy efficiency. He is a founder and partner of an alternative energy company, and he is the construction chair with Habitat for Humanity that is building EnergyStar high efficiency homes for low-income families.

The workshop is free and open to all Monmouth County residents, but registration is required. To register, please call 732-303-2828.

RED BANK

Library patrons will be able to celebrate National Poetry Month 2013 with two April programs at the Red Bank Public Library, 84 West Front St.

The River Read Poetry Reading Series: Words by the Navesink will hold its regular monthly meeting from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13. Poets Laura McCullough and Michael Broek will be the featured readers. An open mic will follow.

Author Selwyn A. Collins will read from his book The EartHeart Knows at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20. He will sign copies of his book following this free program.

The public is invited to both free programs. No registration is required.

An elite group of 100 high school and college students, veterans and jobseekers from across the state participated in the first “New Jersey Governor’s Cyber Challenge” on March 23 at Brookdale Community Col­lege in Lincroft. Participants competed in NetWars, a hands-on, interactive learning environment used by the U.S. military.

Ryan McVeety, 17, of Little Silver, a senior at Red Bank Regional High School, was the first place winner. All participants scoring in the top 10 won scholarships to the first cybersecurity learning center in the country, which will be hosted at Brookdale. The learning center will be funded by a $300,000 two-year grant from the National Science Foundation.

This state championship is organized by the Cyber Aces Foundation, a Bethes­da, Md.-based nonprofit working to discover and develop a talented new cybersecurity workforce.

The 100 state championship participants were the top performers in a series of online tutorials and quizzes that were completed by more than 600 N.J. participants. The championship tested them in system hardening, packet analysis, digital forensics and vulnerability assessment.